What is OSI Layer 6?

Understanding OSI Layer 6

Presentation layer. Layer 6 of the OSI model handles data format translation encryption/decryption and compression between the application and session layers. It ensures that data sent by the application layer of one system can be read by the application layer of another system by managing data representation conversions. Security at this layer focuses on cryptographic controls and encoding. Presentation layer security is addressed in standards like NIST SP 800-53 ISO 27001 and cryptographic standards. Organizations implement Layer 6 security through encryption digital signatures secure compression algorithms character set handling and format validation. For example a secure messaging application might implement TLS encryption at the presentation layer to protect data confidentiality along with format verification to ensure that malformed data encodings cannot be used to exploit application vulnerabilities. Related terms Data encryption Character encoding Data format conversion MIME Compression ASCII Unicode TLS/SSL.